Tricked-Out: A Guide to Firearm Attachments and Modifications

by Chad

***DISCLAIMER: This article is not to be treated as a recommendation or instructions to install, modify or remove any component of any firearm. The author is not a gunsmith. Neither survivalsullivan.com, its principals, owners, operators, contractors or employees, or the author of this article, claim any criminal or civil liability resulting from injury, death or legal action resulting from the use or misuse of the information contained in this article. The reader should hire and consult with a competent gunsmith as part of your preparation to install or remove any part from a firearm. ***

Any gun owner is today confronted with a bewildering array of accessories, parts and enhancements to choose from. Flipping through any magazine, parts catalog or Instagram feed will give you dozens, even hundreds of examples of pistols, rifles and shotguns so thoroughly modified that they are barely recognizable.

Is any of it worth the investment? What is gained by adding to or modifying a host firearm? What accessories are viable for defense or duty use and not just “gamer gear?” In this article I will list and assess the pros and cons of most of the popular parts and modifications, as well as discuss where and when you should spend your money on a given gun upgrade. Some additions or modifications are so important they are essentially required, some may yield an instant improvement to capability or ease of use, and others may only provide a marginal benefit. We’ll examine them all.

A Word on Priorities

The idea of modifying a firearm, specifically one for self defense, is contentious for a couple of reasons. Some people believe that you shouldn’t modify a defensive or duty gun because it is “Gucci” or “gamer” crap that won’t make a difference in a real fight, or that it somehow hobbles you if you ever don’t have access to your hot-rodded personalized guns. Others will posit that you should not waste time or money on upgrades, saving both for training and practice.

A few people still worry over how any enhancements like an improved trigger or muzzle device will look to a jury or authorities in the event that gun is used in a shooting. There are some valid points throughout these criticisms, and I’ll do my best to address them here before we begin.

Pertaining to those that decry and modification or enhancement as “gamer parts” or worthless, I will counter with the objectivist viewpoint: a quantifiable enhancement, defined as something that improves upon innate capability or efficacy, is always an improvement. Take a trigger as an example: a 6 or 7 lb., slightly creepy, spongy stock trigger may be entirely adequate for the task, but a 4 lb., crisp, clean trigger is an improvement, owing to it being easier to manipulate effectively, and making it easier for the shooter to achieve the precision the gun is capable of. Stock may be terrible, acceptable, or even excellent, but better is always better. Just be sure you can define what “better” is for your situation.

For those that caution against buying parts and goodies ahead of training and practice, they have a more substantiated point: Americans in particular are notorious for trying to buy skill. “If I dress, use and equip a gun like the pros do, I will shoot like the pros and celebrity shooters do.” Not without the practice and training you won’t, and what’s worse, the pros equipment is dictated by their mission. Considering yours is likely different, you may be wasting money on additions that will not make a difference for your situation. If you only have the cash for a class or a batch of upgrades, choose the class.

For the last point about enhancements making you look bad in the aftermath of a deadly force situation, I am unconvinced, and unmoved. I have yet to find one example, or have one shown to me, of a self-defense trial case where a modification to an otherwise legal gun has resulted in an otherwise clean shoot resulting in a guilty verdict against the victim. If you have not compromised any safety systems on the gun, or done anything that could result in a negligently dangerous condition, then lethal force is lethal force. The weapon in question, if legal, should not make any difference, and expert witness testimony will dismantle the assertions of any weasely prosecutor’s claims.

Regarding this, many will bring up the case of the Mesa, AZ cop from December of last year, who had modified his AR-15 patrol rifle (against department policy) with a replacement ejection port door with a vulgar statement on the inside. Detractors to weapon modifications point to this instance as their prime consideration. Go examine the results of the case: not only is that a poor example, considering that the offending component was not admissible or germane to the case, but it is also a shining example of what not to do. We are discussing performance and safety enhancements, not juvenile, vulgar slogans or etchings.

With all this in mind, you can go too far in pursuit of “improvement.” An upgrade that compromises reliability, or creates a condition for unintended function is never worth it. An example could be radical cuts or windows cut into a slide, or an oversized magazine release that is too easily depressed unintentionally. Relegate such things to fun guns, or ones solely for competition. Before deciding to pursue a given modification, ask yourself, “What is the biggest shortcoming of this gun?” If it is one that is easily remedied by an item or two on this list, drive on. If it is not, you may be better off looking to upgrade to a better gun entirely. And before we proceed, define your mission, then upgrade accordingly.

ACCESSORIES / PARTS

In this section you will find enhancements that will typically bolt-up or attach to the gun with little if any modification. Other enhancements will require direct altering of the guns components, and I have grouped them together later in their own section.

Iron Sights

Enhanced iron sights are one of the most common upgrades on a defensive gun, and are relevant to all pistols, rifles and shotguns. Typically, users will purchase sights with the intent of improving both visibility and adjustment capability, the latter being particularly important for long guns.

The current paradigm for iron sights on handguns is a thin, ultra-visible front sight, either painted or fiber optic, with a blacked-out rear notch to reduce distractions for the eye. Rifles and shotguns still see the post and aperture (or ghost ring) arrangement as best, and front sights will typically be high visibility like on handguns.

For a handgun, permutations could be taller sights for use over a suppressor or co-witnessed to a miniature red-dot sight, or ruggedized adjustable sights that allow simple, precise zeroing and are still tough enough for a fighting gun. Rifle sights today are most often a BUIS, or back-up iron sight, and designed to fold or stow so that the primary sight, be it a red-dot or telescope, will enjoy an unobstructed field of view. Some varieties of BUIS even angle off the top of the receiver, allowing them to be instantly employed if needed due to occlusion or destruction of the primary optic.

For rifles, Magpul make extremely rugged and easy to adjust iron sights.

Red-Dot Sight

The single biggest performance enhancing piece of equipment for a long gun is an RDS, and approaching ubiquity. The miniature variants (MRDS) are quickly establishing viability for daily carry on a handgun. A red dot allows greatly enhanced speed and precision when used with both eyes open while focusing on the target.

Modern, high quality sights from Aimpoint, Leupold and Trijicon have superb battery life, and are as rugged as the guns themselves in most cases, allowing them to be left on for instant use for months or years at a time, and withstanding abuse and environmental conditions that would have been unthinkable 30 years ago.

Not truly a must have on a long gun, but only barely, their advantages are so overwhelming. If you are not giving these consideration on a handgun, you may want to look into them, especially if you are struggling with poor or failing eyesight; the same benefits enjoyed on a long gun apply to pistols, but they take a little more work on the average pistol to install, as well as a little more training behind the gun to realize.

Aaron Cowan of Sage Dynamics recently published an impressive and thoroughly researched paper on the performance and efficacy of MRDS-equipped handguns and the various models available. I suggest you read it.

For major considerations when choosing a RDS are reliability, durability and battery life. Aimpoint is the world leader in robust optics with a battery life measured in years. The Patrol Rifle Optic is modestly priced and an excellent sight.

Weapon Mounted Lights

Any of my regular reader will know I harp on endlessly about the importance of having a white light along with your defensive firearm, no matter if it is handheld or weapon mounted. I emphasize this point so often because it is that important, being utterly critical for positive target identification as well as backlighting your iron sights in conditions of darkness. For a handgun, WML’s allow you to marry this capability to the gun, allowing you to control both while keeping both hands on the gun, and as a rule this helps you shoot better than when using a handheld. They do add weight and bulk to whatever gun they are attached to, but are usually well worth it.

For long guns, weapon mounted is the default, as any technique for using a handheld light with a long gun is going to be pretty clumsy. Whichever setup you choose, low-light training is required to take advantage of a WML’s benefits while minimizing its weaknesses. When selecting a WML, the two major players are Surefire and Streamlight. Your criteria for selection is reliability, durability, output and simple switching, be it tailcap or pressure pad. Complicated multimode lights with staged or programmable switches are probably best avoided, as you may have a need for full-power, but due to normal use or accident the light has stepped down to low or “trickle” power.

A word on output, or lumens: you want all the lumens you can get. I’ll spare you the major dissertation for now, as that is a subject for another article, but go for the most throw and brightness you can get in a modestly sized light.

• Surefire’s latest iteration of the X300 series.
• Streamlight’s new TLR-7 compact rail mounted light.

Lasers

Lasers come in two major varieties, visible and invisible. Invisible lasers are used in conjunction with night vision to provide an easy aiming solution, while visible lasers do the same thing, only visibly to the naked eye. Visible lasers may not be very easy to see in bright daylight or when used with a high output white light.

On handguns, lasers can be had as standalone units that mount to a rail, combined with a WML unit, or with built-in switching as a pair of replacement grips, made famous by Crimson Trace Corporation’s Lasergrips. Less common examples today are the guide rod replacement systems, by Lasermax- Avoid those. On a long gun, they are almost universally a standalone unit or bundled with a WML.

Proponents of lasers claim they allow you to fire from compromised positions more easily and they may serve as a visual deterrent if an assailant sees they are “lased.” They also claim an increase in speed when using a laser. I can only speak on the latter point as a teacher; I have seen many shooters, even ones that are already proficient, slow down when using a laser in an attempt to steady that swaying dot on the target.

I have no experience using night vision systems, but it is the opinion of several industry experts I follow that an infrared laser is mandatory for effective use of a firearm when using night vision goggles. You’ll have to investigate that on your own.

I am not a fan of visible lasers on handguns or long guns, and believe your bucks are better spent on a red dot if an electronic sight is desired. Lasers can however make for handy training aids, as they can easily illustrate to both teacher and student concepts like minimizing sway, and what is happening at the gun the moment the trigger breaks.

You can find one of CTC’s many variations of the Lasergrip sight here.

Extended Magazines and Magazine Extensions

Ammo is a lifesaving resource for a defensive gun. The more ammo I have onboard without reloading, the better. For magazine fed semi-auto pistols and long guns, capacity is most often increased by simply purchasing a magazine with greater capacity. These can range from slightly longer box magazines to drums. Also take care that an extended magazine does not protrude so much that it compromises concealment, if applicable, or hinders you when slinging or changing position with a long gun.

Take care here, and be sure you are purchasing OEM or high-quality aftermarket magazines, as there are many companies that make poor quality high cap magazines for the uneducated to buy at gun shows. Many drum magazines are troublesome, having complicated loading or unloading procedures as well as poor reliability.

For detachable magazines of common pattern, say Glock, M&P, and AR-15 magazines, among others, extensions can be purchased for standard capacity magazines that will add anywhere between  2 and 10 rounds, depending on the model. These are commonly seen adorning the magazines of various action pistol and 3-Gun competitors.

Tube-fed shotguns, depending on the barrel lug arrangement, will usually accept a thread on extension increasing capacity between 1 and 4 rounds. Note that for detachable magazine or shotgun magazine tube extensions a replacement magazine spring may be required to ensure proper function.

Use discretion before trusting a duty or carry magazine to such a device. Rigorous testing is required to ensure reliable feeding and durability of the unit before carrying it in harm’s way.

Wide Magazine Well, or Mag-Funnel

Once the province of Open or Unlimited Class competition, enhanced magazine wells have been seen more and more often on semi-auto handguns and more than a few AR’s and AK’s. A good design for a handgun will still be low-profile enough to conceal easily, and still reduce snags and fumbles when reloading at top speed. Those will typically click into place or bolt on with a screw for a polymer framed pistol, but installation varies on metal framed handguns. On rifles, most units clamp on or around the receiver to function.

I find these to have merit for most any shooter if the well is conservative in proportion. They also seem somewhat more useful on handguns than rifles.

Control Accessories – Grips, Stocks, and Stops

These are the components that will make the most difference when it comes to the user interface; after all, these parts are the ones that will actually be your points of contact when handling or shooting the gun.

Look for parts that are ergonomically sound, well fitted, and made of rugged material. Any good choice here will provide an excellent grip whether wet or dry. Good materials are quality-made, heavy-duty plastic or G10 laminate. Save wood for your barbecue guns.

Pay close attention to fitment: stocks should not rattle, grips should not interfere with controls or interfere with you reaching the controls. Any support hand accessories for long guns should suit your shooting style and mate solidly to the forend.

Shorter vertical grips and simple handstops are the current ideal owing to the most modernized technique. Angled foregrips are preferred by some, and work fine, but may not allow you to use the grip in unconventional positions like a vertical grip can.

Handstops provide only a small reference point for consistently repeatable hand placement, or to prevent your support hand from slipping off the forend in front of the muzzle on a very short-barreled gun. A barricade stop is designed to be pressed into a barricade or obstacle, whatever it may be, and bite into it to help the shooter steady the gun. These can also serve as a forward handstop.

• An example of highly textured pistol grip panels
• Magpul’s excellent fixed MOE stock, with sling swivel socket

Grip Tape

A time tested, inexpensive option to add grip to metal or plastic surfaces, wet or dry. If you buy a high quality deck or no-skid tape (from a skateboard shop or safety department at a home improvement store, respectively) and pay attention to prepping your surface you can get several months of steady use out of it before it needs replacement, or over a year under lighter use.

Some companies make specialty, die cut kits that perfectly fit certain makes of handguns, allowing you to try out a heavy, sharp texture before committing to having the frame stippled or purchasing new grips, both expensive enhancements, and in the case of stippling, often irreversible.

• An example of a die cut grip tape kit for a Glock 19.

Slings

For a long gun, a sling is as essential as the holster is to the handgun; when you need your hands free If you don’t have somewhere to put your gun on your body, you must resort to putting it down, and that is a poor solution.

The most common sling designs today are single-point, two-point and three-point, with the last being much less common than in the early 1990’s.

A single point sling is attached to the gun at only one point, typically the rear of the receiver, hence the name. Single-point designs allow the gun a great deal of mobility, and an easy transition to the opposite shoulder, but really suck when it comes to  carrying the gun, and doing it in a secure, stable way, which is the whole point of a sling.

A big flaw with a single-point sling is, when used on a rifle or carbine, if you drop the gun quickly, it will fall straight down and smack you in the nads. Ouch. Single-point slings do though have some utility for very short barreled guns, like the classic MP5, or AR pistols, which have a much shorter overall length and weigh less than a proper rifle.

Three-point slings attach to the gun at two-points, typically, but have a long runner between the two attachment locations, and a lot of other things in between there and you. Bottom-line, they are overly complicated and present significant snag and tangle hazards. Avoid them.

Two-point slings are what you want, as exemplified by the modern quick-adjust slings made by Blue Force Gear, the VCAS sling, and Viking Tactics’ VTAC sling. Using one of these slings will allow you to sling the gun in front of your body and keep it out of the way. Or sling it on your back, and cinch it down, if you need to climb, carry or what have you. Slings of this sort also allow you to “sling up” and use the sling as a support with traditional techniques to improve accuracy. They are eminently simple, durable and practical. Get one!

• The VTAC wide padded sling.

Muzzle Devices

If your gun has a threaded barrel, you can take advantage of the wondrous selection of hood ornaments- er, I mean muzzle devices! Muzzle devices come in a few varieties that give different effects. Flash hiders are designed to reduce the flash signature at the muzzle upon firing as much as possible. Very good designs, coupled with the right load, can virtually eliminate flash.

Muzzle brakes typically feature one, two or more expansion chambers to lower gas pressure at muzzle, which is then expelled through large ports square to center line of bore. This provides stabilization of secondary recoil effects. Note correct usage is ‘brake,’ not ‘break’.

Compensators feature at least one expansion chamber and one or multiple vectoring ports located in varying patterns around the perimeter of the device which are clocked to counteract movement of the muzzle during secondary recoil effects. Note that so-called “hybrid” designs exist, which blur the line between the comps and brakes somewhat and may also feature some degree of flash suppression.

Lastly you have suppressors, or silencers. These control the expanding gases from a shot via routing them through (typically) convoluted baffles along the internal length of the device. A silencer provides blast noise reduction and major stabilization of secondary recoil effects, being in essence an enclosed mega-compensator. Today, most modern silencers will mount directly to a specific flash hider or muzzle brake.

These all have their place depending on what you want to accomplish, but bear in mind that many brakes and comps on rifles will dramatically increase pressure to the sides of the device, especially in an enclosed space. For a defensive or duty gun, a flash hider or silencer will serve best.

MODIFICATIONS

This category of enhancements rely on making permanent, physical changes to the chosen part of the gun, and as such, barring replacement of the affected component, are permanent. I.e. you cannot simply take it off. If in doubt of your abilities on any of these mods, let a professional do it!

Trigger Job and Action Enhancements

Trigger enhancement can be as simple as smoothing up the mating surfaces in the stock trigger group, and replacing springs with lighter versions, to completely replacing those same parts with purpose-made high performance components. A lighter trigger on any given gun is almost always an advantage, as it is easier to manipulate the trigger, especially at speed, and not disturb your sight picture.

Beware that you do not go too light on the pull! A trigger that is too light is more prone to be inadvertently pressed, whether from negligence, rough handling, or mechanical failure. Also, the ease and efficacy of this mod will vary greatly depending on the gun in question.

Other action enhancements, like polishing of slide, bolt or cylinder bearing surfaces, lighter action springs, hand mating and fitting of components and numerous other small refinements can add up to a tremendously slick and soft shooting gun. Without training and skill at the task, most of these are best left to a ‘smith.

Some guns, like Glocks, are so easy to detail strip and reassemble that a trigger kit install is within the abilities of a serious user. Some guns, like the AR-15, may be simple to disassemble but a little tricky to install the part on and reassemble. Others examples, such the venerable 1911 or Browning Hi-Power, require a significant degree of gunsmithing skills to perform a modifications on safely and correctly without compromising reliability.

For revolvers alone, chamfering of the chambers, a process where the opening of the chamber is beveled slightly to more easily accept the incoming cartridges off a reload, is an expensive but highly desirable modification. For a defensive revolver, the ability to execute a quick and fumble-free reload is high on the list of skills to train, and so anything that will help on that front is a boon.

If in doubt, leave it to a gunsmith or the manufacturer.

Stippling, Checkering and Other Texturing

Like grip tape above, these methods are all ways to add a non-slip texture to a gun. The exact method will depend on the host part’s material. Stippling is currently a part of the custom polymer gun craze, and is a fine way to add permanent grip to the frame or forend of a gun, as long as it is plastic. Typically done via a soldering-iron type tool, stippling at its simplest simply burns a series of dots or shapes into the part, and in doing so creates a texture that affords a good grip. With a little practice, the average owner can effectively stipple a frame or other part without damaging its structural integrity.

Checkering is seen often on metal guns, and is achieved by way of cutting perpendicular rows out of the surface of the metal with special files. These rows, interlaced, leave behind a field of tiny pyramid shapes that will bite into the hand of the shooter. Depending on how sharp or beveled they are they will provide good to excellent grip, and will go a very long time before being worn away.

Other textures, like striations, grooves and so on, achieve much the same ends, and though they vary in effectiveness and application.

When in doubt, texture: you never know if you will be wet, greasy or bloody when the time comes to use your firearm. The only consideration against it is for the purposes of concealed carry and high-volume training or practice. For carry, aggressive texturing will start to shred clothes in a short amount of time. Used in a long practice session, they will wear away skin and even draw blood with frightening rapidity. There is a happy medium here, experiment using grip tape or by stippling an old rail panel, unused set of grips or Pmag to see what works best.

Modified Controls

Depending on the gun, controls are either too large or too small, stick out too far or not enough, and are too slick or too sharp. The trigger itself may feel too far away to enable proper placement of the trigger finger. Thankfully, replacement or modified controls are widely available and reasonably affordable for many major service handguns and rifles.

You might consider a slightly extended slide release on a Glock to help you utilize it on a reload, or more easily lock the slide open.  A classic P-series Sig will benefit from a shaved slide release to help prevent the shooting hand thumb from depressing it, keeping the slide from locking open on the last round. If you have small hands or are dealing with a large gun, a “short trigger,” one that is thinner from front to rear will lessen the reach to get proper purchase on it.

A 1911 user may like a larger or smaller safety, or one that is ambidextrous. AK users will all enjoy a safety modified to be swiped off with just the trigger finger. This category is tone of the best places to make thoughtful modifications to your gun, as again, the way you interface with these controls will in part dictate how effectively you can run it.

A great example of an enhanced safety lever for a shotgun, in this case a Mossberg. The pronounced lip on the lever prevents the shooter from slipping off when pushing it forward to fire.

Conclusion

Any gun is a starting point. A stock gun may be superb, but without doubt it can be improved. It can be modified to better fit and serve the one who carries it. You may determine that you need very little in the way of customization, if anything, to fulfill your objectives. Or you may decide to wring out every last molecule of performance that it has to give in pursuit of maximum performance. The choice is yours. But whatever you do, make sure you are modifying and adding to your gun with purpose, not just in pursuit of attaching accessories for the sake of it.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/2Jf3ddy

This Mostly 3D-Printed Discone Antenna Is Ready For Broadband Duty

For hams and other radio enthusiasts, the best part of the hobby is often designing antennas. Part black magic, part hard science, and part engineering, antenna design is an art. And while the expression of that art often ends up boiling down to pieces of wire cut to the correct length, some antennas have a little more going on in the aesthetics department.

Take the discone antenna, for example. Originally designed as a broadband antenna to sprout from aircraft fuselages, the discone has found a niche with public service radio listeners. But with a disk stuck to the top of a cone, the antennas have been a little hard to homebrew, at least until [ByTechLab] released this mostly 3D-printed discone. A quick look at the finished product, resembling a sweater drying rack more than a disc on top of a cone, reveals that the two shapes can be approximated by individual elements instead of solid surfaces. This is the way most practical discones are built, and [ByTechLab]’s Thingiverse page has the files needed to print the parts needed to properly orient the elements, which are just 6-mm aluminum rods. The printed hub pieces sandwich a copper plate to tie the elements together electrically while providing a feedpoint for the antenna as well as a sturdy place to mount it outdoors. This differs quite a bit from the last 3D-printed discone we featured, which used the solid geometry and was geared more for indoor use.

Interested in other antenna designs? Who can blame you? Check out the theory behind the Yagi-Uda beam antenna, or how to turn junk into a WiFi dish antenna.

[via RTL-SDR.com]

via Radio Hacks – Hackaday https://ift.tt/2L3u1e8

The Great Debate – Revolver vs Semi

by Chad

If there was ever a topic on guns in our modern age that has been covered extensively, it is this one. A dead horse beaten beyond recognition, a broken record played ad nauseum, and still it persists! There is a reason for that. Despite the semi-auto’s supremacy, and the wheelgun’s purported obsolescence, the debate remains lively among gun owners.

Below, this dauntless author will weigh in with his two cents, dispel myths and outdated dogma, and hopefully provide you, the reader, with a few considerations that you had not considered, whatever your pistol-packing preference may be.

Context

Before I graciously reveal the final, ultimate, binding, One-True-Answer (right, more like my Stamp of Arrogance…) to this decades-old question of which handgun is the ideal, one must consider the context in which a handgun is to be used. For the purposes of this article, I will be comparing both based on the criteria of selection for self-defense. When one considers a pistol for defensive (or offensive) use, the characteristics that make a gun desirable on an individual user level mostly transcend questions of who the user is; police, military or armed citizen.

Sure, for large scale military or agency adoption, factors like service life, cost, and reparability all carry significant influence for adoption, but these are of less concern to the lone citizen carrier. Other criteria, such as reliability, capacity, ergonomics and caliber are of prime importance no matter what you do for a living, even if you don’t get a choice in the matter of what pistol you’ll be toting.

I will of course mention throughout any standout advantages or disadvantages inherent to either design, and talk about roles or situations in which they excel. This article is not a white-paper, and will not be an exhaustive, pedantic analysis of various makes and models. We can “what about” any two matchups until the sun goes out, and, while entertaining, such debates are beyond the scope or tone of this piece.

What Makes a Good Defensive Handgun?

That question is a series of articles by itself, but in the interest of brevity I’ll offer my opinion. For our purposes comparison is constrained to semi-automatic pistols and double-action revolvers. A good defensive handgun will foremost be reliable, possessed of inherent mechanical soundness and efficiency, whether clean or fouled, and moreover reliable in any climate conditions the user may find himself in, be they hot or cold, dry or wet, dusty or dirty.

A good pistol will be chambered in an adequate cartridge to prove effective against an adversary, under most conditions. The cartridge should not be too puny or too massive, with one being ineffectual and the other being too costly in terms of easy, quick handling of the gun.

The gun should be mechanically accurate enough to strike the vital targets of a human, consistently, at a range of no less than 25 yards. A more accurate gun is better, but not if that accuracy is purchased in exchange of mechanical reliability.

The size of the pistol itself should not be so small as to make the drawing and firing of it an exercise in dexterity, and not so large as to prevent effective carry about the waist, whether concealed or not. If the gun is to be compact or smaller in size, it should retain all of the above characteristics, unless total concealment is of uttermost priority.

I’ll be making point-by-point comparisons using the criteria discussed at length above. Keeping these criteria in mind, let’s get to the subject at hand. I’ll warn you now; there will be a few points I’ll make that you may think run contrary to conventional wisdom on the topic. Whether you believe me or not, you have my assurances that my experience with handguns is considerable, much of it in a full time professional setting, and the product of many years of my own training and practice as well as the teaching of a great many students, and observing their growth and evolution. My opinions reflect that body of experience.

Reliability

Bottom-line, most modern semi-autos and revolvers from quality manufacturers are both more than reliable enough for serious defensive use. Many dogged proponents of the six-gun will cite the semi-auto as being more likely to malfunction, or less reliable than a revolver, period. It is my opinion that, practically, this is not true, but a fair performance comparison, and further, one lab-tested for certainty, is difficult to come by, but all around the modern semi-auto is certainly more robust, or durable, than a comparable revolver.

This is owing to the more vulnerable vital components on the revolver: a revolver inherently relies on the delicate arrangement of the cylinder, mounted on the crane, in relation to the breechface and barrel. The cylinder is rotated and aligned by the interplay of tiny mechanisms such as the hand, stop and main pin. Any severe impact can damage these components and change critical tolerances, as can fouling, causing either significant issues, like the shaving of bullets as they cross the gap from chamber to barrel, or malfunction resulting from loss of proper timing.

The timing of a revolver, itself the sum of a properly fitted and maintained action, degrades steadily over time with use, and where an autoloader may need only a few new springs to return to service, a revolver will need at the minimum the attention of a reasonably skilled gunsmith, and perhaps new parts will need to be hand-fitted in the action. Not all brands are equal, in this department.

The old trope that revolvers do not “jam” is utter bunk. Revolvers do malfunction; they just suffer different malfunctions typically than a semi-auto. The revolver has the clear advantage in malfunction reduction over a semi-auto only in the instance of a failure to fire (that is the “click” instead of a “bang”), whatever the cause. A revolver shooter needs only to pull the trigger again, supplying a fresh chamber and fresh cartridge to fire, whereas a semi-auto will require immediate action, usually the tap-rack solution, to recharge the chamber with a new cartridge.

Beyond this, though, things go downhill for the revolver: Revolvers are much more likely to be “short-stroked”, the trigger not being pulled completely to the rear, by users when fired rapidly. A bullet that is pulled slightly forward from its crimp will stop a revolver cold, possibly freezing the action, until it is extracted. Any piece of debris or grit that works its way into the action of a revolver, whether in the trigger group or around the hand or cylinder stop, may bind the action totally, necessitating disassembly for correction. A malfunction of this magnitude is comparatively rare on the semi-auto in my experience.

For a semi-auto, inferior ammunition or magazines is the leading culprit in causing malfunctions, inducing failures to feed or extract, and will typically plague the gun until removed and replaced. In a revolver, assuming the cartridge will fit the chamber correctly and is not dangerously overcharged, it will only cause trouble by failing to fire as mentioned earlier.

The short version is that when semi-autos malfunction, their typical malfunction is far, far less likely to be a showstopper than a malfunction occurring in a revolver. Anything besides a classic failure to fire, a “dud,” will often mean the revolver is out of commission. That is a major issue in a fight.

As far as maintenance, or lack thereof, is concerned, the semi-auto requires more frequent preventative care than a revolver, specifically lubrication. The revolver is more forgiving of utter neglect, such as being kept in the sock drawer since time began, and then being called on to function. If one were more concerned with endurance, meaning a rigorous firing schedule, the semi-auto wins handily. A revolver, run hard and fast, will start to falter before the average semi-auto.

A revolver does have a major edge over the semi-auto in this category when considering a subcompact or pocket gun: a snubbie revolver, whatever its chambering, will not suffer from a shooter-induced limp-wrist malfunction. There are few tiny semi-auto pistols that are standouts for all-conditions reliability.

The winner in this category, if one desires a hard-running, rugged, and dependable pistol is the semi-auto.

Effective Chamberings, Capacity and Reloading

For self-defense against humans, both semi-auto and wheelgun have perfectly adequate offerings. Any of our mainstay choices are fine: 9mm Para., .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, 10mm Auto, and .45 ACP will more than suffice. Today we are seeing more than few revolvers from major manufacturers like Ruger and Smith & Wesson gain mainstream acceptance chambered for traditionally semi-auto cartridges like the 9mm Para. and 10mm Auto.

If one is concerned with defense against large, dangerous animals, the revolver will have an advantage here owing to a greater variety of large magnum cartridges. .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt, .454 Casull are all widely available in revolvers that can closely approximate a service revolver in size and weight, suitable for hunting or as dangerous animal defense pieces.

Large, powerful cartridges like the .44 Magnum and .50 AE can be had in an autoloader, but are without exception massive, heavy affairs, and not known for reliability whichever platform they are found in. In this situation, the revolver is the once and future king of handguns.

Overall, when considering a revolver or semi-auto for effective defense cartridges, it is effectively a tie

For capacity, the semi-auto is the undisputed champ, with the average 9mm or .40 semi-auto having 2 or 3 times the capacity of any comparable .38 or .357 revolver. Any service revolver with a capacity greater than 6 will have a correspondingly large and wide cylinder, which while no issue when carrying openly, can make the gun less concealable.

Reloads too are far more easily accomplished under any condition with the semi-automatic pistol, and the methodology is the same whatever technique is employed: magazine out, magazine in, close slide if necessary. The revolver is much slower, and requires different techniques and equipment depending on the reload. It may necessitate a speed loader to fully reload an empty gun, where a reload with retention will require the use of a loading strip or loose cartridges. Both methods will require the gun to be opened and empties manually ejected. This greater complexity mandates training and practice of additional techniques to reach full proficiency with the wheelgun.

Some decry capacity as subject to too much hype and consideration for a defensive gun, and assert that statistically an average fight is concluded in about 3 rounds (which is true) and so 6 or seven rounds in a revolver (or lower capacity semi) is plenty and, by golly, if you “can’t get it done in 6 rounds you deserve to lose!” This is fine bravado, and, yes, those 6 rounds may surely be enough, but I do not want less life-saving resources when my life is on the line. A gun is no good when it is empty, and a long, clumsy reload to get it back in gear is inferior to a quick, easy reload.

I myself would not feel unconfident or unarmed with a six or seven shot gun, revolver or not. I’d wish I had an 18 shot semi-auto instead, but I’d feel well-armed if the gun was quality. However, the trend toward creation of higher and higher capacity firearms across all categories is a clue about the necessity of onboard ammunition, and any assertion to the contrary is romanticism or hogwash. Six may be fine, but 16 is always better. The winner here is again the semi-auto.

Size

Looking at fullsize or compact guns, the overall footprint of a given revolver or semi-auto is close enough to not worry about. Either will feature large grips that afford good purchase on the gun and will be close enough in size to carry well, either openly on the belt or concealed. A revolver’s shape, owing to the cylinder, will make it, usually, less comfortable to carry inside-the-waistband than a flat, smooth semi-auto.

As the gun shrinks, though, things get more complicated. A subcompact semi-auto will have a form factor far more suited to deep concealment than a revolver of like size. Taking into account again the greater capacity of a compact semi-auto, you are getting much more gun in the same space with a semi-auto. Compare a Glock 26 or Smith & Wesson M&P9c to a Colt Cobra or S&W Mod. 42 or 642. You’ll see what I mean, and having 11 or 13 rounds instead of 5 or 6 in the same size envelope, in an easier to shoot pistol is a no-brainer.

For fullsize guns, it is a tie. For compact and smaller guns, the semi-auto wins this category.

Accuracy

This category is a little more nuanced than the others. All things being equal, a revolver will be more mechanically accurate than a semi-auto because a revolver has a fixed barrel. Yes, I know some semi-autos have fixed barrels. Yes, I know quality of the barrel and ammo makes a difference, I’m speaking in generalities, here.

The stumbling block for the shooter to realize that accuracy is that of the trigger. Simply, the long, often heavy, repeated double-action pull of the revolver is much harder to shoot well than most varieties of semi-auto and slower for most to gain proficiency with. Sure, cocking the hammer allows a terrifically light and crisp pull, but thumb-cocking is not a valid technique to negotiate a defensive encounter, at least one where you are firing rapidly in a reactive mode. But nonetheless, if time is spent in mastering the revolver’s trigger it can shoot very well.

The average stock semi-auto service pistol, save a few stand-out designs or one that has been upgraded, is not known for hair splitting accuracy. Part of that deficiency is mechanical, and the other part is the shooter; there are few who can claim to wring out the accuracy any given gun is capable of, and fewer still that can exceed their gun’s accuracy. Nearly any of them are accurate enough for defensive work.

This is a tie, but the semi-auto has an edge for being easier to shoot well all around.

Sights and Accessories

A bone I have to pick with most revolvers are their less than ideal sights. Many revolvers, especially the subcompact snubbies, feature very rudimentary sights, often times a machined, coarse front blade and a primitive trough cut into the topstrap of the frame for a rear notch. If the rear is not that arrangement it will be the common click-adjustable leaf configuration that is very fragile. A few revolvers can accept a greater variety of durable, modern sight configurations, but not many. Semi-autos of almost every stripe benefit from a plethora of brands, styles and variations of sighting systems.

This is an issue not just for shooting performance and shooter preference; the ability to zero the sights to the chosen load is important. One might make the argument that the typical ranges a revolver will be employed at will render zeroing irrelevant. This is demonstrably wrong, and does not get a pass from me; for revolvers with machined sights, short of changing loads, shaving the front sight down to raise POI, or tweaking the barrel to adjust windage, you have no way to zero the gun.

Another shortcoming is the complete lack of rails on revolvers for the mounting of weapon-mounted lights. Off the top of my head, I can think of two that feature rails on the barrel shrouds: the S&W TRR8, and Chiappa’s Rhino series fullsize guns. Yes, I do assert that one should be competent with a handheld light in conjunction with a handgun, but WMLs offer great advantages in efficiency, and to be unable to take advantage of that will cost some points. Both semi-autos and revolvers are capable of accepting a variety of laser sights if desired.

The modern semi-auto is clearly the winner, once again.

Manual of Arms and User-Friendliness

The revolver has long been championed as an easier-to-learn gun, and I generally agree: there is little simpler than pressing one lever to swing the entire cylinder out of the gun, taking it out of battery, and then inspecting all the chambers simply and quickly to verify their status. To load, insert cartridges and close cylinder till it clicks. Done. You can teach that to someone in minutes.

For a semi-auto, while still very simple, the order of operations is crucial for safety and certainty, and additional levers and controls may intimidate the new user. My opinion is it is only the matter of another half hour or so of training to ensure confidence with the semi, but the fact remains the revolver has an undeniably simpler manual of arms for loading and unloading.

The tradeoff for that simplicity has been alluded to above: the revolver is much harder to shoot well. I see this as something of a Faustian bargain for new shooters. You can have a super-simple unloading and loading procedure that is slow and cumbersome for a low-capacity gun that is hard to shoot well. Or, you can have a quick, simple loading and unloading procedure in a high-capacity, easy to shoot gun that is slightly more complicated to use. That’s the way I see it.

One scenario where the revolver is standout excellent is in the hands of a shooter with weak or injured hands or arms. Charging the slide on an auto is not always easy, and even when using good technique may prove very difficult or impossible for one with such compromised use of their hands. Here, the revolver shines: if a shooter has the strength to grip the gun and press the trigger, the revolver will run, and is completely immune to limp-wrist malfunctions.

Guns, obviously, can hurt you. They can hurt you in more ways than one, and I don’t mean your pocketbook (ha!): aside from the muzzle being the most obvious danger point on both, semi-autos and revolvers each have secondary danger points that can cause injury.

For the revolver, the flash gap, that is the area between the front of the cylinder and barrel will project hot gasses and particulate out in a cone to either side with every shot. This spray can cause burning or cutting injuries, and is a significant risk on large-caliber and subcompact revolvers in particular. For semi-autos the ejection port whenever the slide is closing and top of the backstrap where it ends under the slide when the gun is cycling can both cause cutting or pinching injuries.

Neither type of pistol is particularly deficient here. Nearly any person can learn to use one or the other well with minimal instruction, but the revolver’s is simpler, no question.

Intangibles and Other Considerations

In a close-in, hands on fight, a revolver is less likely to malfunction if employed for a contact shot, as it has no slide to be pushed out of battery, and will only fail to function if something or someone physically impinges on the hammer or cylinder.

Similarly, a compact revolver, especially a hammerless one, can be fired when inside a pocket and be expected to be ready to fire again when withdrawn. Few semi-autos will cycle successfully when the slide is snarled so by cloth or other material. This is a fringe benefit, but valid when discussing pocket carry, especially for folks in cold climates.

The rise of the miniature red dot sight (MRDS) is the next major technological shift for defensive handguns. These sights, once acclimated to, offer the same benefits we enjoy as standard with red dots on rifles, namely increased speed and practical accuracy over iron sights. These sights will be seen with increasing frequency from here on out. Currently, they are seen predominately on semi-autos. Revolvers with frame-mounted top rail, or ability to accept a rail, can mount these sights, but that would be a less than ideal solution compared to the low-profile mounting seen on semi-autos. Time will tell if revolver manufacturers will move to make stock offerings direct-mount compatible.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This author thinks the evidence is clear: the semi-auto is the current paradigm for a handgun. Most armed professionals and gun-carrying citizens choose the semi-auto pistol for serious social purposes. The combination of advantages that the semi-auto brings to the table is plainly superior for most circumstances. The revolver is typically relegated to a backup gun, often ankle- or pocket-carried, a far cry from its glory days when reliable, high capacity autoloaders were either rare or a novelty.

And yet, the revolver persists. Is there anything inadequate about six or seven reliable, potent shots for defense? Is the revolver that hard to run well? Is it so fragile as to discount it from selection at all? I don’t think so. I do think that the semi-auto is the obvious choice for a defensive gun in nearly any situation, with the possible exception of a backup gun, and this author himself still prefers a J-frame or LCR for that role.

The revolver may be obsolescent, but it is not obsolete: a reliable, powerful gun is always a reliable, powerful gun. If a revolver is all you have, or if your selection is limited to a cheap, poorly made semi-auto or a quality revolver, like a nice, used Smith & Wesson Model 10, I would take the wheelgun any day, and twice on Sundays. I would only encourage you to invest in the tool that will help you grow the most, the fastest, as a shooter. That gun is the semi-auto.

What do you think? Am I absolutely right or dead wrong? Let us know what you think and prefer in the comments!

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Comparison: Mossberg 500 vs. Remington 870

by Chad

Americans are brand loyal, and Americans also love to fight about our preferred brands: ask any group of guys, “Ford or Chevy?” and watch the fur fly. People are passionate about their tools of choice, from hammers to boat motors, and this goes double for guns.

You will never hear such impassioned, intricate rhetoric and oratory as listening to two shooters debate the merits of their gun of choice while demonizing the failures of the other’s. One of the longest running debates in the gun sphere is that of comparing the Remington 870 to the Mossberg 500 and 590 families. And as well it should! Between those two guns alone more than 22 million have been produced! That is a significant fraction of the total guns in the U.S.

So is one the True King of the Pump Guns? Is one as good as another? If you lack either, which may be best for a new purchase? The answer, as always, is “it depends.” Instead of making this article a mere opinion piece, I will seek instead to equip the reader with a better education on the differences between them, the key features, design quirks and functional considerations that will help you make up your own mind.

Or, at the very least, give you the facts you need to win the next water cooler debate. Before getting into the main event, I will break down the major differences in the variants of both the 870 family and 500/590 family of shotguns so you can make a fair comparison.

Mossberg 500 and 590: What’s the Difference?

Before we go too far into the main event, we should clear up a few items on the 500/590 family of shotguns. In short, they are essentially the same action, with only a few design changes between the 500 and 590 series, and a few upgrades between the 590 and 590A1. These changes make no difference in the way you’ll operate the gun, but will determine the difficulty of upgrades and add-ons, especially magazine extensions and forends. I’ll detail these below for your enlightenment, and thereafter I will refer to the Mossberg guns collectively as 500/590, except where appropriate.

500 vs 590

The principal difference between the 500 and 590 series guns is in the way the barrel mounts to the gun. The 500 features a traditional barrel lug with a captured threaded screw that is mated into a corresponding hole in the end of the magazine tube. The 590 series guns feature a circular barrel lug that slides over the magazine tube like a hoop, and then is clamped in place with a separate cap.

What this means to you is that on the 500, you are more or less stuck with the magazine capacity it comes with from the factory, unless you want to replace the entire magazine tube and barrel assembly to accommodate it a upgrade, a costly propostion. The 590, on the other hand, can readily accept any number of thread-on magazine extensions if you want to increase capacity, with no change of barrel required.

The other change is a revision to the magazine follower that, in conjunction with the aforementioned difference in locking cap, makes room for one extra 2 3/4” 12ga. shotshell in the same length of magazine tube. Not a bad perk. Another item is the U.S. military standard bayonet lug, which the 500 lacks.

This is not the end of the world either way, but if you like the idea of simpler modification and a higher total capacity, get a 590.

590 vs. 590A1

The 590A1 is a “heavy-duty” revision of the 590, featuring a steel safety, steel trigger housing and heavier, thick-walled barrel. These enhancements add up to make an extremely durable gun that is resistant to brutal handling. It also keeps the bayonet lug from the standard 590. The 590A1 is noticeably heavier than the 590, but if one desires the most rugged variant available, it is the clear choice.

Note that some forends may rub on the thicker barrel of the 590A1 and require relieving of the material for smooth operation. Double check any prospective aftermarket upgrade before purchase.

Remington 870 Police, Express, Tactical and Wingmaster: What’s the difference?

When examining the Remington 870 variants, you will not be confronted with changes that are as obvious as the one son the Mossberg 500 and 590. Instead, think of the different “trims” as a quality gradient, with better materials, parts, and quality control (QC)and assurance (QA) going into the better grades.

The Express and Tactical grade guns are the lowest end, featuring cheaper machining and finishing of major components, and basic a basic finish applied to the gun itself, leading to a much rougher feeling action. Small parts, such as the extractors, are injection molded metal instead of machined stock.

The guns themselves are not assembled to the same standards as the Police or Wingmaster guns, and not subject to as stringent QC. Magazine and other essential springs are of lower grade. Trigger guards on Express and Tactical 870’s are plastic, but are metal on older Police and all Wingmaster variants.

If considering a gun for serious use or self defense, seek out a Police model or Wingmaster. Note that the Wingmasters as commonly fitted have a long barrel and short magazine tube, and both will need replacement to bring them up to snuff for defensive use.

Remington vs. Mossberg: Two Enter, One Leaves

Ok, it isn’t quite that dramatic. Below is an analysis of the differences in major design elements between the 870 and 500/590. We’ll have a recap and intangibles at the end.

Receiver

All 870’s are steel, where all 500/590’s are aluminum. Both have well-earned reputations as rugged, hard running guns, and the lockup of both is steel to steel, so aluminum is not a disqualifier out of hand. The aluminum will, though wear, faster than steel if we are talking about truly heavy use over the life of the gun, as the action bars (see below) of the 500/590 do mate with the softer surfaces of the aluminum receiver.

Action

Both the 870 and the 500/590 feature twin steel action bars. Where they differ is in their attachment systems: the Remingtons have action bars and slide assembly (the “pump”) as a one piece unit, where the Mossberg guns have action bars pinned to a separate slide assembly. The tendency of the 500/590 action bars to wobble, in addition to its slightly oversized slide assembly makes for an action that feels looser, and less refined than the 870, and is sometimes described as “chattery”. This looseness does nothing to affect reliability however, and the 500/590 guns benefit from easier replacement in the event of a bent action bar.

photo: Remington 870

A lightly used or tuned  action is a thing of beauty, and quick. Without significant tuning, the 500/590 guns just tend to feel a little sloppier over time. This is not a practical consideration, but will irk some users.

The 500/590 guns feature twin, machined extractors, whereas the 870 features a single extractor that is either MIM or machined depending on variant. For assured extraction of a stuck or stubborn shell, the Mossberg wins handily. Also of note here is serviceability of other parts in the receiver: the 500/590 shell stops (the small arms that hold the subsequent shell for chambering in the magazine tube) and ejector are replaceable without special tools or procedure. The 870’s shell stops are staked in place and the ejector is riveted. Replacing either is no picnic for the average owner.

The magazine tubes themselves are likewise affixed: the Mossberg’s is threaded into the receiver, and very tightly. The Remington’s is soldered on. Again, replacement of one is achievable with minimal effort, the other is not.

The 870’s all have shell elevators (lifters) that protrude to the bottom of the loading port, and fold out of the way as a shell is inserted. The 500/590’s all have elevators that fold up flush with the bolt, meaning less clutter as a shell is inserted. This again, makes so little practical difference as to be nearly not worth the mention, but I mention it here for completeness. Some users think the Mossberg is easier to load because of it.

Controls 

The 500/590’s have a tang mounted safety mounted on top of the receiver; forward is fire, back is safe. It is an excellent design feature, and completely ambidextrous, but does not lend itself well at all to using a pistol grip stock, owing to the need to completely break down the firing grip to reach in that case. The 870’s have a safety located immediately behind the trigger on the trigger housing.  It is pressed from right to left for fire, and the reverse for safe.  Think “Flush on the right, ready to fight.” The 870’s design lends itself well to pistol grip stocks, but can be awkward for lefties. Neither gun is drop safe.

The forend release for the Mossberg is located immediately behind the trigger on the left, and is pressed up to release. The Remington has the same control on the front left of the trigger guard, and is pressed rearward to release. Both are completely serviceable for lefties or righties.

Intangibles

Remington has been having some well publicized QA/QC issues since acquisition by Cerberus Capital Management back around 2007, shortly after forming the Freedom Group with many other gun and ammo manufacturers. There are many accounts, including several witnessed by the author when  he was still selling guns commercially, of lower end Remington offerings having substantial extraction and ejection problems, actions far rougher than the 870 was rightly famous for, broken small parts and improperly applied finishes that were vulnerable to rusting. I would recommend seeking out an older 870 Police model, well-equipped from the factory for a defensive role, or an 870 Wingmaster to tune up if you wanted a quality Remington gun free from their current troubles. This will not be too difficult owing to the great number of legacy guns on the open market.

photo: Mossberg 500 2 barrels courtesy of Fluzwup via Wikimedia Commons

Mossberg has suffered from its share of lemons over the years, but the 500/590 series shotguns never faltered as badly as Remington has due to corporate shenanigans. Remington is also, as of this writing, currently in bankruptcy, and these ongoing issues are unlikely to resolve themselves in the near future. This is not a knock against the 870 design, but any company can have good times or bad. Remington is currently, and has been for a decade, having a rough go of it.

Both guns benefit from extraordinary popularity, the Remington being considered truly ubiquitous, and both have excellent aftermarket support for nearly any part desired. Sights, lights, stocks, forends, safeties, rails, sling attachments, chokes and magazine extensions, everything you might need to modify either is readily available. The 870 does still have a slight edge, here.

As mentioned above, a pistol grip stock should be discounted entirely with a 500 or 590 due to the placement of the safety. If that is a must have item for you, the Remington is the de facto winner.  Lefties, though, will find the 500/590 a boon after a lifetime of being forced into a less than ergonomic world of right-hander’s guns.

If one is looking to tune an action and take it as far as it can go for performance, even with its quirks the Remington 870 will be the best basis for such a project, and there are several gunsmiths who will perform excellent work on them, the great Hans Vang, of VangComp fame is one such smith, as are the wizards at Wilson Combat. The 500/590 lend themselves a little better toward a more “working-class” gun, one that does not have as refined an action, but one that is more easily user serviced.

Conclusion

The Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 or 590 are both iconic American shotguns, and both are more than suitable for any task that may be required of them. Each has its own quirks and perks, but neither is so glowingly superior as to render the competitor the clear loser. Choose the one that works best for you, work to minimize it shortcomings, and get to training with it. They will both shoot as well as you can.

Which is your favorite, the 970 or 500/590? Did you pick a third option? Let’s hear about it in the comments!

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26 Survival Uses for a Knife

by Nick

A survival knife is probably the single most versatile tool in your BOB, INCH or GO bag, but did you know quite how much you could do with it? Here are 25 different functions of any good survival knife.

Caveat: you shouldn’t do most of these unless you really have to, as you’ll damage the knife. An alternative would be to have a cheaper back-up knife in your BOB that you can use.

1) Cutting Stuff to Size

Probably the most obvious use for a knife, a knife cuts things up. Tarps, blankets, ropes and cords, shoelaces etc. For thicker thicker stuff (e.g. composite ropes, heavy canvas) you want a serrated knife with a wide blade, like a rigger’s or sailor’s knife. For really delicate things like sewing threads use the tip of a finer knife for precision.

2) Fell Trees

With a big enough knife, and enough time, you can fell a small tree. Carve two V-shaped notches in opposing sides of the trunk, with the one on the side you want the tree to fall towards being slightly lower. The notches should go about a third of the way through the trunk, then just push the tree over in the right direction.

3) Split Wood

If you don’t have an axe a large knife will do the trick for small logs for the fire. You will need a strong knife with a relatively wide spine. It’s length should be at least one and a half times the diameter of the logs you expect to split.

Ideally you should split wood on a chopping log, a thick log with the end grain uppermost. If this is not available a large flat rock will do, but will blunt the edge of your knife faster. If no good chopping block can be found, hard ground is preferable to soft, and try to clear away any small stones which could splinter your knife edge.

Stand up the piece of wood to split vertically in front of you. Place the blade of knife, using the part nearest the handle, straight across the diameter of the wood. Take a large wooden billet (a big heavy stick) and use it’s weight (not swinging it) to tap the knife into the wood, similar to making a pilot hole.

Make sure the knife is vertical and square to the wood then bring down the billet, straight and hard onto the spine of the knife, directly above the log, driving it down through the wood. It probably won’t split the log all the way down (especially if you are splitting close-grained hardwood).

To finish the split. Lean some of your body weight on the knife handle and bring the billet down again on the spine of the knife which should be poking out of the opposite side of the log. Hitting this side of the knife will have a ‘lever’ effect (tilting the knife through the split, rather than lengthening it) unless you counter it with your body weight. Continue until the log is split, then split down each part to the right size.

Small split battens make ideal blanks for feather sticks., larger ones are good for shelter building.

4) Hammer

A heavy knife can be used as a hammer. Folding knives actually end to be better for this because the mechanism, blade and handle together are very heavy. Hold the handle with the knife closed and use the butt of the knife. The same grip can be used with a fixed blade, but the blade should be sheathed if possible to protect your hand.

5) Pry Bar

Any knife with a flat blade can be used to pry things open, like opening tin cans without a can opener or pulling nails out. Whenever possible use the spine of the knife rather than the blade and the blade rather than the point. Some knives come with a wide ‘chisel tip’ blade specifically for prying (often ‘wrecking’ knives and diver’s knives).

6) Screwdriver

You can use a knife as a screwdriver. This will probably blunt your knife and can damage the tip, but it’s faster than making a tool from wood or bone, and you might not have anything else to hand. Use the knife blade-downwards (towards the screw)  because if you slip while putting pressure on it to tighten a screw  you want to hit the spine (which is blunt) not the edge.

7) Make Tools

Knowing how to use your knife to full effect is great, but a specialized tool is often better. Tools for almost any application can at least be improvised with the help of a knife. For food, good fishing hooks can be carved from wood or bone. A stick carved to a chisel point becomes a screwdriver or a scraper for tanning hide, and of course a knife is needed for making the ultimate survival tool, a bow.

8) Close Quarters Combat

You might not be the only large mammal around in a survival situation. An angry bear is just as dangerous (and likely to sneak up in the night) as a human, so be ready. With the right training even a bunt Swiss Army Knife is much better than nothing (Steve Tarabi and Raymond Floro both teach good training systems).

That said, a larger knife (a bowie or parang) will be better for fighting, and if you really think it likely you will need it, a specialised fighting knife. There are really only two options : a karambit (which necessitates learning a whole new approach to knife fighting, but is very effective) or a Fairbairn-Sykes (a straight bladed double edge knife designed specifically for military use).

9) Ranged weapon (throwing knife)

If you can it someone before they even get you, so much the better. Yes there are specialised throwing knives out there, but any knife can be thrown accurately with practice. Before training, try balancing your knife on your finger at the point where the handle meets the blade. Whichever end swings up (the lighter end), grip that when throwing. So if you have a long knife with a very heavy blade, hold the handle and vice versa. Balanced knives can be thrown from either end.

10) Spear

A knife lashed to the end of a stick becomes a spear. For all hunting, but especially for fishing, a spear with some kind of hook or barb will make a world of difference, so having a hunting knife with a gut hook is preferable. If this is your only knife then it will also help with gutting fish later for the fire.

11) Skinning and Dressing Game

Unless you’re feeling truly wild you’ll want to dress any game you kill. The best dressing knives come with a gut hook inthe back of the blade, and with practice one motion can open up the belly, then remove the guts on the backstroke.

You don’t need to learn dressing methods for each individual animals you my come across. Dressing a rabbit is very similar to a hare or a squirrel, but a turkey needs plucking and fishing need descaling. Most big (bears, deer etc.) are different again and each part has a different use. In a survival situation knowing how to make thread from sinews and guts or tan a hid can make life a lot easier when your equipment needs repair.

12) Clearing a Path

This one also needs a big blade to do easily. Machete and Kuri knife designs evolved specifically for the big swinging motion needed to clear a path through dense undergrowth quickly.

13) Debarking Trees

Tree bark (especially that of birch and palm) can be useful in a survival situation for making containers (and even canoes!). Bark should be harvested in the spring time, when the sap is rising so it will be easier to ‘peel’.

Using a sharp knife, make a vertical incision in the tree, dig your fingers under it and push them under the bark, peeling it off. Around the tree, to eventually meet the incision again. It should pop off like a roll of wrapping paper.

A large section of a tree with no branches can even be completely debarked in a spiral if you need long strips for weaving or boat building.

14) As a speil (Tapping for sap)

From mid spring to mid fall the sap rises the trees and can be a great source of hydration or just a sweetener for trail meals. A surprising number of trees can be tapped: most species of maple (the sugar maple is the best), Box Elder, Gorosoe, Black and White Walnuts, Sycamore and all species of Birch. Do your research as different species are best tapped at different times of year

There are two methods for tapping. For the ‘trunk’ method: Use the tip of your knife to cut an incision, angled at about 45° upwards into the trunk of the tree, then stick your knife into the cut blade first, so that the flat of the blade is horizontal. Put a container below the end of the handle and wait.

The other method is less invasive. Cut off the end of a branch at an angle (ideally a fairly large, healthy branch, low down the tree) and place a container underneath it. Neither method is quick, but the ‘trunk’ way is probably a little faster and can be performed within a slightly longer period of the year.

15) Open Cans

This can be a very dangerous procedure (open tin can ids can be very sharp and serious cuts on your fingers are the last thing you want in a survival situation!). That said, if you lose your an opener, you can use a knife with a decent point.

Make sure your can sits on a flat, stable surface. Place the tip of the knife at the inside edge of the lid, where the blade of a can opener would normally go. Hold it vertically in your strong hand and smack your other hand down on the butt. This should make a small cut through the seam. Move the knife around the rim, to just past the end of the cut you just made made. Repeat, making another cut. Reperat all the way around the rim, then use the tip as a pry bar to lever up the lid, which should now be free.

16) Digging

In a pinch, a flat blade is better than nothing for digging. This will blunt you’re blade and almost certainly break the tip off your knife, but if you really need to it works.

17) Eating and Cooking Utensil

If you want to pack really light you don’t really need to pack a knife fork and spoon. So long as your knife can cut food up small enough to pick up with your hands, your good, and a flat bladed knife makes a good cooking spatula if need be.

18) Stake (or making stakes)

If you run out of tent pegs a knife will do for a night. Make sure to push the knife into the ground with the blade edge facing the tent, otherwise it will just cut the guyline or groundsheet when any force is applied. Although this will work in an emergency, using the knife to make a stake from a stick is a much better idea.

19) Fire starter

A knife made of proper steel (higher carbon steels work better) will spark when struck with a flint or ferro striker. Especially in the case of well known brands, any companies offer sheaths or pouches with a loop for ferro rods and you should always take one you with you just in case.

20) Cauterize (seal) Wounds

Cauterization is an absolute last resort. If you are losing a lot of blood, at risk of bleeding out, and methods like tourniquets or heavy dressing are unavailable or impractical, then (AND ONLY THEN) cauterization is an option.

If possible, take a painkiller first, even if it’s just a natural root or herb which helps a bit, it’s better than nothing. If not, you might want to grab a stick to bite down on.

Next, prepare the knife. If the metal of the blade is the same as that of the handle then you need to wrap it in some kind of insulation, like leaves or bandages. Then sterilize the blade with alcohol before heating it. Then heat the metal of the blade until it is hot, but not so hot that it glows red or white.

Finally, place the metal over the wound. Leaving it there too log will burn healthy tissue, so cauterize in one or two second bursts until the wound is sealed. It is going to hurt, even with strong painkillers, so be ready.

22) Removing Splinters

A pointed knife can remove splinters well. Point the blade edge in the same direction as the splinter went in to your body. Lay the flat of the knife (as close to the tip as possible) at the bottom of the splinter (the end in your body) then ‘scape’ towards the other end. This should squeeze the splinter out.

23) Shaving

If your knife is sharp enough, you can shave with it. You will almost certainly need to re-sharpen your knife each time, as a standard razor is ground to less than 15°, whereas most knives are around/above 20°. Keep the blade absolutely perpendicular to your face and don’t press too hard and you should be fine.

24) Making Toothpicks

A piece of wood split down small enough (or just thick shavings carved to a point) make excellent toothpicks.

25) Stripping Wire

It goes without saying that you should never try to to strip live wire with a metal knife (or any tool, but especially a conductive one).

That said, it can be done safely: hold one end of the wire, with the wire resting on a flat surface like a worktop. Score a groove all the way through the wire jacket at the end near your hand (you will have more control at this end), you should be able to see the copper of the wire itself. Now hold both ends of the wire and pull, a small section of the jacket of the jacket should come off at the end you scored.

If you need to strip more of the wire then follow the above until the scoring, then   hold the knife in the groove you scored and pull the end nearer the score away from the knife. This will be harder but it should take of a lot in one go.

26) Signaling

A well polished knife is essentially a mirror, so can be used just like a heliograph. Point the flat side of the knife towards the sun and then tilt it towards the intended recipient. You don’t necessarily need to learn Morse code (it’s a good idea anyway though!) so as long as you know some basic phrases by rote:

• I require assistance …–
• I require medical assistance .– –
• No/negative –.
• Yes/affirmative -.-.

You can also use a knife to carve blazes on trees.If you’re going to do this then learn the system first, as it differs from region to region. Mostly a combination of arrows and larger/smaller symbols to indicate direction is common.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/2IvVaWs

Tiny Transmitter Brings Out the Spy Inside You

When it comes to surveillance, why let the government have all the fun? This tiny spy transmitter is just the thing you need to jumpstart your recreational espionage efforts.

We kid, of course — you’ll want to stay within the law of the land if you choose to build [TomTechTod]’s diminutive transmitter. Barely bigger than the 337 button cell that powers it, the scrap of PCB packs a fair number of surface mount components, most in 0201 packages. Even so, the transmitter is a simple design, with a two transistor audio stage amplifying the signal from the MEMS microphone and feeding an oscillator that uses a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator for stability. The bug is tuned for the 433-MHz low-power devices band, and from the video below, it appears to have decent range with the random wire antenna — maybe 50 meters. [TomTechTod] has all the build files posted, including Gerbers and a BOM with Digikey part numbers, so it should be easy to make one for your fieldcraft kit.

If you want to dive deeper into the world of electronic espionage, boy, have we got you covered. Here’s a primer on microphone bugs, a history of spy radios, or how backscatter was used to bug an embassy.

via Radio Hacks – Hackaday https://ift.tt/2wTAnKY

7 Laws That Are Talking Away Our Freedom

by Isabella

America has a unique constitution that was founded on the principle that people have rights; not rights granted to them by a benevolent government but by a Creator God. Our constitution recognizes our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which takes form in the freedom of speech, religion, and the right to bear arms as well as the right to a fair trial and exemption from cruel and unusual punishment, among others.

Of course, since the founding of our great nation, many power-hungry men and women have been attempting to undermine our liberties and our ability to practice our constitutional rights. The last thing tyrants want is for Americans to simply live in peace, providing for, defending, and raising up their own families as they see fit.

The ever-expanding federal government is slowly eroding the unique liberties granted to us by the Constitution of the United States. Whether it’s gun rights, parental rights, religious liberty, or disaster preparedness, we are up against some serious threats to our freedom and our ability to be self-reliant and independent of the government.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways state and federal government are seriously threatening the liberty of American citizens.

Unconstitutional Gun Grabs

In the wake of the Parkland shooting, the gun control zealots are coming out in full force. Relying on highly emotionally-charged rhetoric and false facts and data about the nature of school shootings, gun violence in the US, and various firearm classifications, politicians are bending over backwards to please the hysterical gun control lobby.

One such frightening case of a very serious threat to Second Amendment liberties is a bill that just passed the state senate in Illinois, that, if passed, would make criminals out of 18-20-year old firearm owners.

Breitbart News reported that the bill HB 1465 would “[require] 18-20 year olds to hand over or transfer ownership of heretofore legally possessed “assault weapons”

“After being introduced in the upper house by Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), the bill has added seven co-sponsors in the last week,” continued Breitbart News. “Notable among them was Sen. Jim Oberweis (R-Sugar Grove), the NRA “A” rated 2014 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate.”

“The NRA-ILA described the weapons covered by HB 1465 as ‘commonly-owned semi-automatic firearms.’ The bill also requires 18-20-year-olds to forfeit ownership of any magazines that hold more than ten rounds of ammunition.

“The guns and magazines remain legal for persons 21 and up, but persons under 21 would have 90 days to give up ownership, should HB 1465 become law.”

The prospect of thousands of gun-owning Americans being forced to turn in their firearms simply for being in a certain age bracket is highly enraging.

The Second Amendment protects our right to keep and to bear arms, and confiscating weapons from law-abiding, gun-owning Americans is a clear violation of this sacred right.

Tiny House Bans

The tiny house phenomon has swept across America over recent years, and for good reason! Tiny houses are sustainable, cheap to build, and a perfect option for those who want to live off-grid or build their own home without the massive overhead of steep home loans.

However, like all good things, the government wants to regulate them.

“Many residents and local officials fear they will drive down property values. Some state and local governments, perplexed about whether to classify tiny houses as RVs, mobile homes or backyard cottages, still refuse to allow them,” writes PBS News.

“Those built on foundations must meet local building and zoning regulations. But many tiny houses are built off-site, sometimes without knowing where they will ultimately rest. That makes it difficult to know which building codes to meet, especially if owners plan to move them from place to place,” they add.

Gone are the days when you could simply scout out a plot of land and build a house with the materials you could find.

Civil Asset Forfeiture

For the most part, the Trump administration has done more to give us back liberty than take it, but it definitely hasn’t been a perfect first year.

Jeff Sessions, Trump’s Attorney General, has made some good policy moves in office, for example he’s been attempting to hold Sanctuary Cities accountable for their gross neglect to detain illegal aliens, but he also brought back an unconstitutional property seizure policy that is blatantly unconstitutional.

In July, 2017 The Washington Post reported:

“The Justice Department announced a new federal policy Wednesday to help state and local police take cash and property from people suspected of a crime, even without a criminal charge, reversing an Obama administration rule prompted by past abuse by police.”

“Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said the Justice Department will include more safeguards to prevent the kind of problems that have been documented in the past. Police departments will be required to provide details to the Justice Department about probable cause for seizures, and federal officials will have to more quickly inform property owners about their rights and the status of the seizures.”

“The goal here is to empower our police and prosecutors with this important tool that can be used to combat crime, particularly drug abuse,” Rosenstein said at a news briefing. “This is going to enable us to work with local police and our prosecutors to make sure that when assets are lawfully seized that they’re not returned to criminals when there’s a valid basis for them to be forfeited.”

The policy that this move reversed was set in place to prevent police from unlawfully seizing property from people who did not commit a crime, because there has been a history of police abuse of policies that do not require charges to be filed in order for property to be confiscated.

Allowing the police to freely rob you of your property, when you have not even been charged with a crime, is literally legalizing theft.

Think of the implications this has for someone who is simply trying to prepare themselves for disaster–if the local police operate under the mainstream thought crime mentality and charge you with a hate crime for simply saying you disagree with Islam on social media, which is the direction this world is headed, the police could come with a SWAT team and rob you of your preps, weapons, ammo, and not even face consequences.

City Ordinances on Community Gardens

Community gardens are a great way to get entire neighborhoods involved in an age-old practice of self-reliance and sustainability: gardening.

However, many cities across the country have been cracking down on the harmless act of growing and sharing food, as the Homestead Guru reports:

“Community gardens are also labeled a threat of the food industry because of the freedom it provides for low income and impoverished people. One example of a garden being shut down is the South Central Farm that was a community garden located at East 41st and South Alameda Streets and the garden was the largest community garden in the United States.

“The city allowed the farm the be created but sold the property to Ralph Horowitz in a secret deal out from under the citizens, and the new owner attempted to evict the farmers even though the farmers were able to raise the money to buy the land themselves.The selling of the land was corrupted, as it involved many backroom deals but it still ultimately lead to the demise of the peaceful garden.

“There were many protests and acts of civil disobedience for several years before the farm was finally bulldozed in 2006. There have also been many cases from around the country where the city or HOA’s shut down peaceful community gardens and even regular front yard gardens.”

It is completely insane to think of banning someone from simply growing a plant in the ground, but the overall trend of statism seeks to put all power in the hands of the state and remove it from the hands of the people, and this starts with food production.

Delaware’s Insane Restrictions on Parental Rights

The mark of a shift in power from the people and to the state is when the government assumes a position of authority in a child’s life above that of their parents and gives the children the authority to spy on and report their parents.

A law being considered in Delaware would do just this to Delaware public school children by granting them some insane rights at school and allowing school administrators to keep important information about their children private.

In November 2017, The Blaze reported:

“A proposed anti-discrimination policy for Delaware schools has both parents and state legislators up in arms.

“The First State’s proposed gender policy would effectively allow students to change their gender identity in learning institutions at the discretion of educational administrators.

“The policy explicitly provides that educators should consider not consulting or notifying parents of children who wish to change their gender identity, if those parents are not supportive enough of the gender identity change.”

This is nothing short of absolute tyranny. To undercut the authority of parents to such a degree, to perpetuate the lie that a person can change gender at will no less, is chillingly reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984, where government agents torture a man until he agrees that 2+2=5.

The gender confusion agenda is one that is being weaponized against parents, not to mention Christians, all across the country. The state has no right to hide something as drastic as a child choosing to identify with the opposite sex from parents or the fact that biological males are being allowed in the girl’s locker room or bathroom.

Parents have rights over their children and a constitutional freedom of association and the state simply cannot undermine that.

 

Ohio “Fairness” Act

The Ohio Fairness Act is ironically anything but fair, and poses a serious threat to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of association. Designed to protect the now-privileged class of homosexual and LGBT people, the act instead punishes Christians and anyone those who disagree with the homosexual and LGBT lifestyle.

In Ohio, long considered to be an important swing state in presidential elections, a bill has been introduced into the state’s General Assembly that is nothing more than a bill to give LGBT individuals and organizations privileged rights over everyone else.

HB 160, known as the Ohio Fairness Act is anything but fair. The bill amends many existing pieces of legislation and supposedly establishes fairness in government, business and political campaigns. Hidden within all of legal jargon used to write a piece of legislation, is the following:

“(1) Publish, distribute, or otherwise communicate information that does any of the following:”

“(c) Promotes illegal discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, ancestry, national origin, or handicap, age, or ancestry; or sexual orientation or gender identity or expression as those terms are defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code;”

(source)

That is literally banning free speech and the observance of religion. Our country was founded on the principal that you have a right to say anything you want and openly practice your religion without interference from the government.

The legal precedent that you can be punished for simply communicating your personal feelings on race, religion, age, sexual orientation, or gender identity is a direct violation of the first amendment, and if you think this is only possible in Ohio, think twice. Other states have been considering laws just like or similar to this one, so be vigilant–expressing your personal beliefs may soon be banned in your community as well.

Banning Collection of Natural Resources

Every single prepper needs to be aware of the legal precedent that has been set in this country that bans the collection of vital supplies as basic as rain water.

You’ve probably heard of the outrageous laws in Colorado that ban the collection of rain water, well, what you’ve seen on social media is no exaggeration, as The Washington Post reported in 2015:

Do you live in Colorado? Does it rain on your house? Do the drops patter off the roof, compose romantic puddles on your porch?

Guess what: That water isn’t yours. You can’t have it. And you most certainly cannot set out a tank to catch what falls from the sky, you thief.

Water laws are so strict in Colorado that rainwater collection is virtually prohibited. The doctrine is written into the state’s Constitution. All the rain is already spoken for. It belongs to someone, and that someone probably isn’t you. So don’t you touch it.

Sadly, this isn’t isolated to Colorado, several other states have laws restricting the collection of rainwater, and not just that, but it can often be illegal to generate your own electricity as well.

This is a huge violation of personal liberty as well as a serious concern for anyone focused on prepping or basic self-reliance.

Every single landowner has the right to collect and utilize the rain that falls on their land, and to restrict this is as insane as restricting and regulating the air we breathe.

If the government can ban us from something as simple as allowing rainwater to fill up in a bucket, what other liberties can they take from us? How much oversight can they have in our lives? The open-ended answers to this question are frankly chilling.

Our country was founded on the principle that we all have the right to live our lives as we choose, quietly and unmolested by unnecessary government regulations. Our federal government was supposed to remain small, and yet it has ballooned in size in recent decades, adding thousands of jobs, and with them, people whose positions are justified only by the unnecessary regulation they create.

As long as enforcing the law in this country can be incentivised somehow to a government that is increasingly indebted to private bankers, and as long as there are nefarious forces in our deep state and around the globe who are determined to take this country down from the inside, the attack on our liberty will continue to escalate.

And unfortunately, if that happens, it’s hard to imagine anything good will come of it.

At the end of the day, this is why we prep. The American Dream is an incredible one, but the American experiment may not last forever. We will die either fighting for our liberty, or watching it get stripped away from us.

Whichever side you choose, one thing is vital: prepare yourself and your family now, before prepping is banned completely and our liberties have completely vanished.

via Modern Survival Online https://ift.tt/2GnkM5U